Combat Disease with your Herb Garden – Smudging Medicinal Smoke

Smudging – Frankly, the word doesn’t sound like a good thing. However, using the herbs from your garden to make a smudge stick can actually kill bacteria and viruses in and around your home. It can even kill super bugs – bacteria that have become resistant to man-made medicines.

Science of Smudging

Hold on now, I know what some of you are thinking. The crazy hippies think smoke from plants cures death itself. No – that’s not it at all. This is, believe it or not, bonafide science!

Like, with scientists, testing, reports and results and all that fancy stuff.

Here is a link to one scientific report, entitled Medical Smokes (published in the Journal of Ethnopharmacology), which speaks to the evidence of smoke from various herbs used in smudge being successful at killing bacteria and viruses. It even tells us that the effect of the smudging on the germs can last up to a month!

Wild White Sage, or Artemisia ludoviciana, that we are using for our smudge. Photo by J&J Acres

Smudging with Sage

Sage is the traditional and most common herb used for smudging. Especially in ceremonial uses. While many sages can be used, or even pseudo sages, like Artemisia ludoviciana, the most common one is White Sage, Salvia apiana.

The sage is believed in many cultures to dispel evil spirits. Perhaps it does, but what science tells us is that it can kill the evil germs that lead to illness or even death, and that’s pretty darn good for me!

Whether you put stock in the traditional beliefs, or if you prefer the scientific reasoning, the fact is that smudge sticks work.

How to make a Smudge Stick

The great thing about Smudge Sticks is you might already be growing the herbs you need. If not, then they are readily available, cheaply. While you can make smudge sticks that are 100% Rosemary, or other herbs, I would recommend you start with Sage. It is easy and forgiving and can easily be used in bundles of mixed herbs, making smudge sticks with multiple plants.

We laid our herbs out on these dehydrator trays over night to let them wilt before forming them into smudge sticks. Photo by J&J Acres

Here is what to do:

Harvest the leaves of the plant in spring, when growth, vigor and vitality are strong.

That’s it, you’re done! Use the smudge stick as needed, or about once a month. Be sure to make enough to get you through until next spring! You’re doing to want that sickness fighting power in late winter too!

Do you Smudge? Let us know in the comments below what you do and how you use them! Some use smudge sticks for smoking their beehives – what a great idea!

If you can watch the video it may help, but generally you light the end, let it burn for a short amount of time and then blow it out. It will continue to smolder, like a stick on incense. You then move around your house so that the smoke can be distributed everywhere. Then you can put the stick out by rubbing it on a plate, rock, etc., and light it again later for another smudging. I hope that helps!

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